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Kelly Ground is one of Lumsdaine's earliest acknowledged
pieces, composed when he was in his mid 30s. Written for solo
piano, its title refers to one of Australia's most famous
historical figures, Ned Kelly, a bushranger whose defiance
towards the colonial authorities eventually resulted in his
dramatic capture and execution.

As an abstract composition, Kelly Ground can be divided
into two cycles the first of which comprises five strophes. The
two cycles are radically different: the writing in the first is
dense, lively, and virtuosic; the second is still and
contemplative. The composition is formed from the pitch material
of cyclic matrices (confirming the allusion in the title to the
cyclic bass on which a melody is composed), which in the first
cycle is employed linearly, row by row. The chords of the second
cycle, on the other hand, are formed from the columns of the same
matrix.

By drawing critically on different musical traditions, Lumsdaine
is able to create a space within which the social conventions
that surround both music, and the legend of Kelly, can be
contemplated.